Our friends at Shift have set the date and time for the 2011 World Naked Bike Ride. If you want to bike in the buff, mark June 18th at 8:00 10:00 pm down on your calendar (Facebook event listing). New this year, someone has decided to offer a competing ride for those who don’t care for biking naked. Yes, now you can choose from the World Naked Bike Ride or the First Annual World Clothed Bike Ride.

In recent years, Portland’s naked ride has attracted monumental crowds. Last year some estimates put the amount of riders at 13,000 and organizers say it has grown by about 50% each year. Not everyone is fully naked, and the official policy is “As bare as you dare.”

With clothes…

or without.

If you don’t dare go fully nude — and/or don’t want to be around people that do — this year someone has organized the “(First Annual) World Clothed Bike Ride!” Here’s a snip from the Facebook listing:

“Are you tired of all the pressure to ride bikes naked?
Are you sick of seeing the jiggly bits of people who don’t ride bikes otherwise?

Then this ride is for you!

This will be a celebration of our right to wear clothes (multiple layers even!) while going on a fabulous bike ride!

Can’t wait to see the post ride issue of Busted. Sure to be thick with indecent exposure arrests. Portland has no shortage of nasty looking people that smell like BO. Unfortunetely they like being naked or close to it in the summer.

lapis: i’m exited. the size of the WNBR is just completely bonkers these days, lots of bottlenecking, the group being split up multiple times, etc… i’m looking forward to another option… so thank you for organizing it! and since past years have been so cold, i’m happy it’s a clothed ride! i’ll be sure to mummify myself with 20 layers of snowsuits and appropriate accessories : )

Actually the WNBR is at the same time as last year: Meet at 9pm, ride at 10pm.

Also, the ride has had a string of 150%-growth years: 800 riders in ’07, 2000 in ’08, 5000 in ’09. So the rough count of 13000 in ’10 fits the curve, though to me it looked more like around 8000. Jonathan, did you mean to say that it’s grown by AT LEAST 50% each year?

I say let’s aim for 30000 riders this year anyway! Spread the word to your friends, family, coworkers, classmates, out-of-town guests, and anybody else you can think of. And remember that riding is better than watching. Much, much better.

Pedalpalooza needs lots of clothed rides too. Last year we had around 300 events, and I see no reason we can’t match that. You can view the ever-changing Pedalpalooza calendar (and add your events to it) at http://shift2bikes.org/cal/viewpp2011.php